Maryland inmate accused of forging documents to get early release

An inmate already charged in connection with a scheme to use drones to smuggle contraband into a state prison south of Hagerstown is now accused of faking a court document in an attempt to get released early from prison, according to the Maryland Attorney General's office.

Jose Miguel Tapia, 38, faces numerous additional charges including forging a public document, obstruction of justice, first-degree attempted escape and committing identity fraud with the intent to obtain goods or services with a value of at least $100,000, according to the dockets for the two new cases.

Tapia, also known as Jose M. Tabia, was being held without bond Wednesday afternoon at the Washington County Detention Center.

More on crime: 'The violence is real': Maryland GOP lawmakers release plan to take on rising crime

Tapia had been an inmate at Roxbury Correctional Institution south of Hagerstown and is accused of using a contraband phone in that prison in the attempted escape and identity theft cases.

Tapia allegedly "created a fake court commitment document and impersonated a representative from the Office of the State's Attorney in an attempt to secure his unlawful early release from prison," according to a news release issued Wednesday from the Attorney General's office.

Indictments against Tapia in the two new cases were filed in late September through Washington County Circuit Court. Tapia entered not guilty pleas in both cases last week, according to the case dockets.

The document Tapia is accused of forging had a seal of the Clerk of the Circuit Court and purported to grant him 449 additional days of credit for time served that he had not earned, the release states. The fraudulent document was sent to the Maryland Department of Safety and Correctional Services and to the circuit clerk court office in Baltimore City in an attempt to get out of prison early.

Tapia electronically faxed the fake document to the clerk's office from his prison cell, assuming the identity of a representative from the State's Attorney's office and called the clerk's office to request the document be processed.

"Fortunately, the Clerk's Office recognized that the commitment was a forgery and did not process his release," the news release states.

According to charging documents, Tapia made several calls on Oct. 17 and 18 in 2022 using a contraband cellphone within Roxbury. He called officials within the correctional services department and Baltimore City Circuit Court. He also used an email address using the name of a real defense attorney but creating a domain that made it appear the person was with the Maryland States Attorneys Office.

He was able to obtain names of people in certain departments, calling back at least once to ask for one of those people and he assumed the identity of someone else and tried to get his "new" credit for time served accepted so that the inmate in question — himself — could be released, according to court documents.

On Oct. 18, after faxing the fake commitment order to a person in the Baltimore City Circuit Court clerk's office, he got a call back from that woman, court documents state.

The woman said she received the fax and when she questioned whether she was speaking with someone with the state's attorney's office — and Tapia said "Yes" — she responded, "I don't think that's possible," according to court documents.

The person from the clerk's office told Tapia, who was using a fake name, that she works closely with the State's Attorney's Office and the email and phone number didn't match. She also pointed out the paperwork wasn't coming through the right office.

She told Tapia she was calling the State's Attorney's Office and contacting the Attorney General's Office "to figure out what's going on with this, because .... actually it looks like everything is forged ..." according to court documents.

Tapia also accused of using contraband phone in prison to commit identity theft

Tapia also is accused of having a contraband cellphone in his jail cell to "facilitate a complex identity fraud scheme," the release states.

He allegedly assumed the identity of dozens of people, even disguising his voice to impersonate an older woman as he tried to steal their money, the release states.

Two of the victims were previously life insurance clients of Tapia's wife, the release states.

The Herald-Mail is not naming Tapia's wife or other potential co-defendants in court documents because it was not immediately clear whether they had been charged.

Tapia also is accused of impersonating representatives from various hospitals as he tried to get unauthorized access to their email systems and finances, according to the Attorney General's office.

He specifically targeted a company that provides electronic payments to health care providers and hospitals, changing the hospital fax number to his own fax number so he would get faxes that were intended to go to the hospital and that contained virtual credit card numbers he could steal, the release states.

Law enforcement intercepted communications Tapia made with his cell, regarding both schemes.

Investigators searched Tapia's cell at RCI on Nov. 5 and found the contraband cellphone.

“If it had been successful, this inmate’s complex scheme to impersonate government officials could have resulted in his escape from confinement and in his theft of numerous identities that could have cost several people serious financial loss,” Attorney General Anthony G. Brown said in the news release. “I highly commend the vigilant correctional staff and law enforcement officers who intervened and put a stop to this ploy, underscoring the critical role that they play in preserving the security and well-being of our communities.”

Brown thanked numerous people in the law enforcement community for their work or assistance, including Special Assistant Attorney General Brendan J. Flynn, the Washington County Narcotics Task Force, Washington County State's Attorney Gina Cirincion, and special agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency Washington Division's Hagerstown resident office. Others thanked include state public safety department investigators and Senior Assistant Attorney Generals Jared I. Albert and Zachary A. Norfolk.

Tapia, in an earlier case in Baltimore City Circuit Court, pleaded guilty on Jan. 15, 2013, to conspiracy to distribute narcotics, according to court documents. He was sentenced to 15 years, suspending all but one day. On Oct. 13, 2021, Tapia admitted to violating his probation and was sentenced to three years, with one month of credit for time served.

In May this year, officials with the Attorney General's office announced Tapia was among several people charged in regards to smuggling contraband into RCI.

In the contraband Tapia was involved in, he allegedly worked with other inmates and people on the outside to smuggle drugs and other items into RCI for distribution by having contraband packages flown via drone over the RCI fence, according to indictments.

His trial in the contraband case is scheduled for December.

Tapia did not appear to have an defense attorney in the two new cases. His defense attorney in the contraband case had no comment Wednesday regarding the charges in the new cases.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: State inmate near Hagerstown used contraband phone to try to escape